Simultaneous Determination of Cannabidiol, Cannabinol, and in Human Hair by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

An analytical method was developed for evaluating the cannabidiol (CBO), cannabinol (CBN), ${\Delta}^9-tetrahydrocannabinol$ $({\Delta}^9-THC)$ level in human hair using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Hair samples (50mg) were washed with isopropyl alcohol and cut into small fragments (< 1mm). After adding a deuterated internal standard, the hair samples were incubated in 1.0M NaOH for 10 min at $95^{\circ}C$. The analytes from the resulting hydrolyzed samples were extracted using a mixture of n-hexane-ethyl acetate (75:25, v/v). The extracts were then evaporated, derivatized, and injected into the GC-MS. The recovery ranges of CBD, CBN, and ${\Delta}^9-THC$ at three concentration levels were $37.9-94.5\%$ with good correlation coefficients $(r^2>0.9989)$. The intra-day precision and accuracy ranged from $-9.4\%\;to\;17.7\%$, and the inter-day precision and accuracy ranged from $-15.5\%\;to\;14.5\%$, respectively. The limits of detection (LOD) for CBD, CBN, and ${\Delta}^9-THC$ were 0.005, 0.002, and 0.006 ng/mg, respectively. The applicability of this method of analyzing the hair samples from cannabis abusers was demonstrated.